Process of reconditioning used waste



Aug. 17, 1937. L. c. M NAMARA ET AL 6 PROCESS OF RECONDITIONING USEDWASTE Original Filed Dec. 1, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l In ven tors, Leo CMcNamara, Irvin M. Conway, William T Bissell,

Herschel H.

Harold,

Mm I

A Horny;-

Aug. 17, 1937. L. c. M NAMARA ET AL PROCESS OF RECONDITIONING USED WASTEOriginal Filed Dec. 1, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllirili Aug. 17, 1937.1.. c. McNAMARA ET AL PROCESS OF RECONDI TIONING USED WASTE OriginalFiled Dec. 1, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 m mm m s, a H mmr uBH. n M L e e u Cm n na I ww h s Lhud wH Patented Aug. 17, 1937 UNITED STATS ATENT OFFICEPROCESS OF RECO-NDIT'IONING USED WASTE Application December 1, 1932,Serial No. 645,222 Renewed April 22, 1936 Claims.

journal box is to provide means for feeding oil by capillary action tothe surface of the journal. 5 Cotton waste is commonly employed and itis preferable to mix some wool waste with the cotton in order to securea greater resiliency so as to keep the mass of waste in contact with thejournal. The cotton waste is composed of strands of yarn and threads andthese strands are spun in the usual and well known manner from thecotton lint. Each strand is therefore built-up from innumerable bits oflint varying in length as does the usual cotton lint from approximatelya half inch to a maximum of two inches. Therefore each strand will havemany ends of these 1, individual pieces of lint exposed along the sidesthereof and in fact will have such ends projecting somewhat so as togive the yarn a fuzzy appearance. As is well known, each particle ofcotton lint represents a single cellular structure resembling somewhat,on a much smaller scale, a twisted length of empty fire hose. That is,the cotton lint is a flattened structure having a 5 slight spiral twistto it. By reason of this twist, the lint is easily and readily handledand brought into the form of the yarn or thread. Also by reason of thispeculiar formation of the lint, the yarn or thread formed from such lintprovides an excellent wick since these innumerable particles of lintform many capillary tubes through which the oil will flow.

The waste in the journal box around the under side of the journal willgive excellent service so long as its wick-like action is maintained.This action will persist as long as there is a supply of oil present andalso as long as these capillary tubes within the yarn itself and betweenadjacent strands of yarn do not become clogged with foreign matter. Inall of the literature pertaining to the reclaiming of used journal boxWaste and the oil reclaimed therefrom, which we have been able tosecure, it is repeatedly stated that the difficulty encountered withwaste in the usual journal box is that free lint in the waste will feltor mat against the journal, become charred, and cause a hot-box. Thus inall of the processes heretofore known to us, particular stress has beenplaced upon the removal of the lint. Of course in handling any cottonyarn or threads in the presence of oil, there is bound to be some lintloosened from the threads and yarn and flowed out in this oil. Howeverour experience has been that it is not the presence of this lint whichcauses journal boxes to heat but it is the presence of colloidal matteraccumulating in the waste which progressively stops-up the manycapillaries through the waste and thereby prevents the feeding of theoil to the journal. Felt itself will give a wick action as long as itdoes not become clogged with foreign matter and therefore what lint mayseparate from the waste after it is in the journal box, even though itmay felt against the journal, will not cause any harm as long as itremains free of the colloidal matter since it will of itself tend tofeed the oil against the journal.

This colloidal matter above referred to consists of finely comminutedparticles of carbon, metals, cinders, sand and the like coated withfilms of the lubricating oil. The particles of metal arise from thewearing of the journal and the brass and much of the other foreignmatter gets into the journal box from the dust arising along theroadway. Upon a sufiicient accumulation of this colloidal matter, thecapillary action of the waste becomes stopped since this finely dividedmatter forms a coating about the strands of yarn and threads and abouteach of the exposed lengths of lint themselves so that the passagesthrough which the oil has been flowing become stopped. It is then thatlubrication fails and the journal becomes heated. Another factor whichmust be taken into consideration in employing waste in a journal box isthat short ends must be guarded against. The term short ends isgenerally employed to mean such short lengths of yarn and threads whichbecome disengaged from the general mass of the waste in such a mannerthat they may work around between the journal and the brass in whichcase the bearing will fail.

In our invention below described, it is our intention to remove thecolloidal matter from the used waste in such manner that the minimumnumber of lint ends will be broken-off or removed from the strands ofyarn and threads so as to leave these ends exposed to aid in thecapillary action which is to be restored. Our entire method is devotedto the restoration of the capillary action in the waste and it is tothis object that our method is directed. One particular form ofapparatus suitable for carrying out our method is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevationin more or less diagrammatic form;

Fig. 2, a top plan View;

Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4, a fragmentary feeding end elevation;

Fig. 5, a detail on an enlarged scale of the picker rod structure;

Fig. 6, a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section through an oilextractor, and

Fig. 7, a diagram illustrating the various changes produced in the wasteby the succeeding steps of the process.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews in the drawings.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, we employ a tank [0 which has arelatively narrow floor sloping downwardly from the discharge end towardthe feeding end of the tank. The sides of the tankare carried upwardlyto flare outwardly to give a comparatively large open area across thetop as compared with the floor area. A plurality of scraper blades I!are mounted transversely of and carried by the pair of endless chains l2and I3, Fig. 3, whereby the blades may be moved downwardly along thefloor of the tank to scrape across this floor and discharge any matterscraped therealong into a sump l4 across the lower end of the floor. Aplurality of scraper blades 15 are mounted on an endless chain l6 to becarried across the bottom of this sump and up an inclined floor llwhereby such matter scraped off the tank floor and delivered into thesump is removed therefrom.

A screen I8 is mounted within the tank It! above the path of thereturning scrapers II to be in substantially a horizontal positionandextending longitudinally throughout the major length of the tank. Thisscreen I8 is built up from a plurality of flat bars turned on edge and45 spaced apart to leave openings therebetween to form a grid-likestructure with the bars running longitudinally of the tank. The rear endof this screen l8 terminates forwardly of the rear end of the tank so asto permit the insertion there- 0 between of a plurality of closelyspaced steam pipes 19, these pipes forming in effect a grid screenfilling in the space at the rear end of the screen I8. The Width of thescreen I8 is substantially that of the floor of the tank l0 and the 55screen is mounted in the upper part of the tank so that a space is lefton either side thereof.

On each side of the screen l8 and extending thereabove are a pluralityof steam pipes 20. The screen I8 is preferably provided with a cen- 60tral longitudinal partition 2| extending vertically upward therefrom soas to divide the space above the screen into two lanes, one on each sideof the partition.

Above the horizontally disposed steam pipes l9 5 and over the rear endof the screen I8 is mounted a frame 22 carrying a plurality ofdownwardly hanging picks 23 which are given an up. and down and a foreand aft motion by the swinging of the frame 22 on cranks. Forwardly ofthe 70 frame 22 are mounted a plurality of pairs of pickor rods 24, 24',which are mounted on transverse shafts 25, Fig. 5, to be rocked by acommon arm 26 extending from an eccentric 21 to give a greator degree ofrocking to one of the rods in each 7 pair than to the other as indicatedby the dash lines, Fig. 5. rods move fore and aft immediately above thescreen l8 for a predetermined length of time and are then raisedupwardly a considerable distance while their lower ends point forwardlyand are again lowered when their lower ends have been rocked rearwardly.The structure embodying the picks 23 and the picker rods 24, 24, isexplained in detail in the U. S. Patent to Conway et al., No. 1,783,407,issued Dec. 2, 1930, and in combination with the grid screen in acopending application by McNamara et al., filed May 4, 1929, Serial No.360,544, which application has since matured into Patent No. 2,000,291,granted May '7, 1935.

An inclined floor 28 leads upwardly from the screen 18 in front of thepicker rods and has mounted immediately thereabove a pair of endlesschains 29 and 30 across which are bars 3| on which are mounted aplurality of fingers 32 adapted to be moved upwardly and over the floor28.

Used waste as taken from the journal boxes in more or less 'mattedcondition; containing much colloidal matter and heavy congealed oil, isbrought into the reclaiming plant and, without preheating, is dumpedinto the tank In immediately above the steam pipes 19. Lubricating oilof the type generally employed to saturate the waste forlubricatingpurposes is placed in the tank l0 to have a level six orseven inches above the top of the screen I8. By means of the pipes l9and 20 the temperature of this oil is brought up to above the boilingpoint of water, temperatures as high as 260 degrees Fahrenheit beingemployed in some cases. This oil is free from moisture and therefore maybe heated to such a temperature safely in the open tank without anydanger of foaming. Now as the dirty waste is dumped into this hot oilabove the pipes I3, the moisture in the waste is driven off rapidly inthis area immediately above the pipes I9 before the moisture is carriedinto any appreciable volume of the oil. The waste is fed into the oilgradually at a rate such that the moisture may be driven off as rapidlyas it is received in the oil. Since the pipes 20 are along the sides ofthe tank and just submerged under the oil, and an intensely heated areais provided at one end by the pipes 19, and by reason of the shape ofthe tank as to its sides and sloping floor, the oil in the tank is beingconstantly moved downwardly through the screen l8 and back up around thesides to over the pipes 20 and also from the discharge end of the tankdownwardly over the floor thereof and up between the pipes IS. The oilitself is thus automatically circulated by convection currents.Therefore when the cold dirty waste is fed into the heated oil over thepipes IS, the waste is quickly heated, the water heated and evaporatedand carried upwardly out of the oil, the old oil in the waste heated,and the waste itself somewhat expanded. During this action, much of theforeign matter, particularly the larger particles, will be precipitatedfrom the incoming Waste to drop between the pipes l9 down through theoil to the floor of the tank.

The reciprocating picks 23'engage in this incoming waste and. move itforwardly from "the pipes l9 to carry it onto the screen 18. As thewaste is thus moved forwardly, the picker rods 24, 24' engage with thewaste and gently move it fore and aft over the parallel bars in thescreen I8 and at the same time exert a slight pulling apart action alsoin the direction of the rocking of the rods. By reason of this action ofthese rods in combination with the form of the screen The lower ends ofthese picker l8, a carding action is set up in the presence of theheated oil which serves to untangle the matted incoming waste and toopen it up by spreading apart the strands of yarn and threads,hereinafter termed fibers, and more important, to arrange these fibersin a more or less parallel alignment along the bars of the screen 18.This movement of the waste by the picker rods is repeated a number oftimes by the various pairs by the time the waste is shifted to the frontend of the screen l8. While these fibers are being shifted andstraightened out, and by the repeated action thereof, the fibers aregently and slowly rubbed one over the other in the presence of theheated oil whereby the colloidal matter adhering to the fibers and thelint ends projecting therefrom is loosened up and floated out into theoil.

Thus far what has happened to the waste is that the cold matted wastewith congealed oils and foreign matter including some moisture has beenfed slowly in comparatively small amounts into an intensely heated zoneof lubricating oil to have all of the moisture content removed, to havethe congealed oil heated and intermixed with the oil in the tank, andthe larger solid particles of foreign matter precipitated from thewaste. The waste has then been carded in the presence of the hot oil andone fiber rubbed frictionally over the other so as to further aid in theseparation of the colloidal matter therefrom so as to float such matterfrom the waste into the oil.

The oil in the tank In is watched and the contamination by suchcolloidal matter as above referred to is never allowed to exceed such aconcentration as would interfere with the capillary action of the wastewhen it is withdrawn from this oil. The oil in the tank It) isfrequently changed and renovated so as to remove the colloidal matterand permit the same oil to be returned to the tank for use again. Whilethe volume of oil in the tank I0 is relatively small yet in comparisonto the Waste passing through it and the colloidal matter removedtherefrom, the volume of the oil is comparatively large so that it maybe used for a considerable length of time before the concentration ofthe colloidal matter in the oil reaches a point requiring a changethereof. During the steps of the method thus far described, some lintwill float out of the waste into the oil but since the waste is notviolently handled nor oil forced through it by pressure, the lint endsextending from the fibers will not be broken off nor will particles oflint be pulled out of the fibers. What lint does appear in the wash oilis removed when the oil is renovated and what little lint may be carriedby the waste out of the Wash oil is so slight as to be negligible sincesuch lint will be entrapped between adjacent fibers tending to furtheraid in forming additional capillary tubes in the final production. Wasteitself is an excellent filter and will entrap and retain these particlesof lint when lint bearing oil is carried through the waste.

By reason of the convection currents set up in the oil itself in thetank In, considerable amount of the colloidal matter will beprecipitated on the floor of the tank in the presence of the intenseheat of the oil and will thus be carried by the scraper blades ll backto the sump l4 and removed from the tank. It is to be noted that theform of the tank I0 approaches that of an evaporating pan with a wideevaporating surface and. a restricted volume therebelow. The presence ofthe partition 2[ through the center of the screen I8 aids in holding thefibers in parallel alignment and in preventing them from rolling up intoballs or rolls which would interfere with the bringing of the fibersinto the wick-like formation.

When the waste leaves the picker rods at the forward end of the screenI3, the fingers 32 on the conveyor over the floor 28 engage in the wasteto carry it up over the floor and in so engaging, the waste is loopedaround the fingers to form hanks of fibers as diagrammatically indicatedas step three in Fig. 7, step one indicating the dirty waste beingsubjected to the intensely heated oil over the pipes l9, and step twothe fibers as having been rubbed over each other and brought intoparallel arrangement. The waste is carried up the floor 28 with the oildraining back from the fibers into the tank I3, it being noted that theoil is thus permitted to drain by running back down over the fibers assupported in substantial parallel arrangement whereby the flow of oil isessentially longitudinally of the fibers thereby tending to flush offany foreign matter which may still be adhering thereto. The foreignmatter however has been effectively removed by the rubbing together ofthe fibers under the action of the picker rods so that only that smalldegree of the colloidal matters which may be floating in the oil itselfwill be on the fibers as they are carried up the floor 28 and by theflow of oil downwardly over this floor, and longitudinally of thefibers, even this small degree of the matter will tend to return withthe oil to the tank rather than remain on the fibers.

From the upper end of the floor 28 these fibers are dropped into hoppers33 and 34, one for each lane as defined on either side of the partition2!, this partition being continued up the floor 23. Under each hopper isa separate extractor, the structure of which is indicated on thesomewhat enlarged scale in Fig. 6. The waste dropping through the hopper33 for example, falls in front of a plunger 35 which is made toreciprocate within a box-like housing 36. The waste will be in the formof a more or less continuous belt or wick of parallelly arranged fibersas it drops through the hopper 33 and the plunger 35 is loosely fittedwithin the box 36 so that as the plunger moves beyond the hopper, thewaste forwardly of the plunger may be moved ahead without being cut offor damage being caused to the fibers which extend back from that partahead of the plunger to that part remaining in the hopper 33. Upon eachreturn movement of the plunger 35 back of the hopper to permit morewaste to drop in front thereof, a side 31 of the hopper 33, or 34 as thecase may be, is so mounted and is so connected to the driving mechanismas to be carried downwardly to press and carry the waste down throughthe hopper 33 and then be removed as the plunger moves forwardly again.By reason of the reciprocating action of the plunger 35, the member 31carrying the waste downwardly, and the tendency of the waste to hangtogether in a continuous belt-like formation, the waste is compactedwithin the box 36 in a folded arrangement with the folds at the top andbottom of the box and the fibers principally arranged in verticalparallel alignment. The waste which is carried forwardly of the plunger35 still contains considerable oil carried over from the tank l0 and,upon repeated motion of the plunger 35, is compacted to such an extentby layers of waste being pressed behind forwardly compacted layers thatthe oil is pressed from the waste by layer upon layer being pushedtogether. Since the waste is folded within the box to have the fibers insubstantially vertical positions, the tendency of the 0il,'-aS pressureis applied to the waste, is to flow longitudinally of the fibers,thereby again obtaining a cleaning effect of the fibers themselves aswell as the removal of the oil. The upper side of the box 36 isadjustably spaced by its outer end from the floor of the box in order toretain the compacted waste within the box until sufficient -pres= surehas been built up by repeated motion of the plunger 35 to force thewaste outwardly from the open end of the box. The box is sufficientlylong to permit a considerable amount of waste to be retained thereinwhile the plunger is going through many cycles of motion so that thewaste is actually held under pressure for a considerable length of timeso as to provide a time element within which the. oil may gradually flowfrom the waste rather than violently. forcing it through the waste. Inthis manner the projecting lint ends of the fibers are further protectedand not torn loose. The cross sectional area of these boxes is notgreat, one particular installation having a box not exceeding 7 x 7inches square. By compressing the waste into relatively small masses,the distances the oilhas to flow outwardly therefrom are very short.never exceeding that from the center of the waste to the outside so thatthe filtering action of the waste itself is reduced and there is butslight tendency for the waste to retain any of the colloidal matterwhich appears in the .wash oil then flowing out of the waste. Thepressure applied to the waste and the time interval allowed issufficient to cause all of the free oil to be extracted uniformly fromthe waste before the waste leaves these extractors. The waste is thuscompacted in the fourth step of the process, Fi '7.

The extractors are here shown asbeinginclined upwardly to have theirdischarging ends over a comparatively small tank 38. This tank 38contains a grid screen 39 longitudinally thereacross with a centralpartition 40 dividing the screen into two lateral alleys, one for eachof the extractors 33 and 34. A plurality of sets of picker rods 4| ofexactly the same structure and having the same operation as the rods.24, 24, are mounted to swing longitudinally over the screen 39. Thetank 38 has clean lubricating oil therein with a level some six or seveninches above the screen 39 and this level is maintained by fiowingadditional oil therein as waste is taken from the tank. The temperatureof the oil in the tank 38 is much below that of the oil in the tank [8.

Waste discharging from the two extractors under the hoppers 33 and 34drops into this bath of relatively cold oil in the tank 38 to expandsomewhat as it is released from the extractors. This waste as it dropsinto the cold oil still has a relatively high temperature by reason ofits having been heated in the bath of oil in the tank It] so that whenthe waste drops into the cold oil, the waste is suddenly chilled. Thischilled waste is worked by the picker rods 4| over the screen 33 toagain separate the fibers and straighten out the folds as caused by" theextractors and brought loosely together in essentially parallelarrangement of fibers and gradually worked forwardly of the tank 38.This step of subjecting the heated compacted waste to the relativelycold'bath of lubricating oil and the second cardingVaction is indicatedinthe diagram in Fig. 7 by the numerals 5 and '6. wherein it isindicated that-the folded fibers dropping from the extractors firstexpand in the. presence of the oil due to their own resiliency and arecarded to rearrangethem. g, I

From the front end of the screen 39 the fibers are picked up by thefingers 42 carried by the elevating conveyor 43 to have the fiberslooped therearound to string backwardly therefrom; on either side asthey are pulled upwardly over a draining floor 44 to allow oil to flowlongitudinally down the fibersback intothe tank 38. Since the fibersenterthe tank 38- substantially freeof 011, much of the oil in the tankas will be absorbed by the fibers to fillup the capillaries therein andto adhere to the mass of waste in general so that theilevel of the oilin the tank 38 is constantly tending to be lowered as the waste is takenfrom it, but this level is maintained by a. supply. .of infiowing oil.The tank 38 is preferably arranged in relation to the tank Hlso. "thatany time it may be desirable, the oil in the tank 38 may bedirectlyconveyed by gravity into the tank [0. The waste being taken fromthe tank 38 by the conveyor 43, which step is indicated as number '7 inthe diagram Fig. '7, is dropped from the upper end of the floor onto achain belt 45 which travels forwardly undera rolling member 43. Thismember 46 is composed of a plurality of individual cylindricalsections-each mounted resiliently about a central axis so as to becapable of springing upwardly from the belt 45 individually in respectto adjacent sections. The

structure involved in the belt 45 and the rolling member 46 is exactlythe same as shown'inthe 'U. S. Letters Patent to McNamara, No.1,845,676,

issued February 16, 1932. The under side of the roller 46 revolves inthe same. direction of travel as that of the belt 45 so that the Wastedropping onto the belt is carried forwardly therebyunder. the roller tohave oil uniformly pressed from the waste to a degree depending upon theclearance between the roller and the belt. Thewaste drops onto the beltin relatively small masses with the ported, the roller may be carrieddownwardly to compress the waste against the belt 45.1'with the desiredpressure and with a uniform pressure laterally acrossfthe roller so thatthe waste may being in a plurality of sections, and spring .sup-

be dumped off from the belt 45 completing ',step

8 into some suitable receptacle with just that amount of oil desired forfinal lubricating .pur poses. f f

We find that by practicing the steps 5 through 8, employing relativelycold oil in the tank 38', a much better waste is obtained than when'hotoil is used in the tank 38. The cold oil' is much more viscous than thesame oil at a higher temperature and consequently a greater quantity ofthe oil by weight will remainv in the waste without draining therefromwhen it is placed in the receptacle 4! than were hot oil to have beenused in the place ofthe coldoil. Since the waste has a very hightemperaturein comparison and then as thewaste "is moved along over the75 Y. I 'l'i.

screen 39, the waste is cooled down while its fibers are beingrearranged and the oil worked therein and therebetween under the actionof the pickers M in combination with the parallel grids of the screen39. This carding action on the waste within the tank 38 not only servesto restore the waste to a more wick-like formation but also aids inworking the clean lubricating oil into and closely around the variousfibers therein and the projecting lint ends, thus further aiding ingetting the lubricating oil back in the capillaries in the absence ofthe colloidal matter.

The waste passing between the roller 46 and the belt 45 is compressedsomewhat thereby but not into a mat so that in the presence of the moreviscous oil, the fibers are brought somewhat more closely together thanthey were when they left the tank 38 but not so compressed as to squeezeout all of the oil from between the fibers.

It is to be noted that in following our process, the resultant wasteproduct is in a cool condition ready for immediate use or may be storedindefinitely without any danger of spontaneous combustion or burning. Inthe processes heretofore practiced, it has been common to find the wasteat the end of the reclaiming operation to be exceedingly hot so thatmuch of the oil originally left in the waste would settle down from thetop portion of the mass when placed in a containing drum so as to leavethe upper portion or even more of it in a more or less dry conditionhighly favorable to spontaneous combustion. The waste is a poorconductor of heat so that even after the hot oil has settled down out ofit the fibers remain heated and are liable to char. Our process preventssuch a fire hazard as well as possible damage to the waste itself sincethe waste is cooled in the bath of relatively cold oil and such cold oilwill adhere more tenaciously to the fibers than would the same oil in ahighly heated condition. We are therefore able to have a resultant wasteproduct with a higher oil content than has been heretofore possible.

It is believed that the reason that our reclaimed waste is found to bemuch superior to new waste is that in our method the fibers are soworked in the presence of oil that they are brought into more or lessparallel arrangement to more closely approach the maximum possiblenumber of capillary tubes as are required to give the best wick actionand also that we are able to incorporate more lubricating oil in thewaste.

So far no mention has been made of the disposition of the short ends inthe waste as appearing therein when the waste is first dumped into thetank lll. When the waste is expanded in the highly heated bath of oil inthe tank Ill and again under the action of the picker rods 24, 24', theshort ends are floated out of the waste, not being long enough to engagearound the picker rods, and being considerably heavier than the fibersin the waste proper, such short ends drop between the grids of thescreen [8 to fall to the bottom of the tank. This precipitation of theshort ends is further accelerated by reason of the adhering masses ofcolloidal matter. Thus by the time the waste is carried to the dischargeend of the tank ill, all objectionable short ends have been screened outfrom the Waste.

In further reference to the question of free lint in the waste, ourprocess actually roughens up the fibers of the waste somewhat by reasonof the slipping of one fiber over the other longitudinally so as to freethe lint ends from being pasted down to the sides of the fibers. Againwhat lint isfioating in the wash oil and is carried out by the waste asit leaves the tank I0 is uniformly distributed throughout the waste.This distribution is further created by the flow of oil in theextractors under the hoppers 33 and 34. The minimum flow is at thecenter of the waste in these extractors while the maximum oil flow is atthe outside so that there is no rush of oil through the Waste from oneside entirely therethrough to the other and consequently the ficw ofsolids in the compacted waste is of relatively short length. As tocolloidal matter, the nearer such matter is brought to the outside ofthe mass, in any direction, the greater is the volume of fiow of oiltending to carry it on out. As to the fiow of lint, the flow is notunder sufiicient pressure to tear up the fibers or loosen them to freemore lint, but instead, the free lint is entrapped and retained largelywithin the waste in uniformly distributed manner to promote a highercapillary action of the waste in general. In the compacted condition ofthe waste in the extractors, thefree lint as well as the projecting lintends, are not free to move with the oil fiow by reason of the pressureof the layers of waste one upon another restraining lint movement.

It is to be further noted that the used waste as it is brought into theplant for cleaning has an oil content that may be removed by the oilbath. When the waste leaves the extractors, this mixture of old oil andbath oil has been removed leaving the waste with no free oil but stillcontaining a fixed oil content in the form of absorbed oil within thelint cells or as films about them. This fixed content remainsundisturbed outside of the fact that it has been heated and expanded inthe oil bath, which expansion and decrease in its viscosity has aided inreducing the adhesion of the colloidal matter adhering thereto. Thefilms remain after removal of the colloidal mat ter. The cleanlubricating oil added to the waste is in addition to the fixed oilcontent and is the oil which fiows in the capillaries between adjacentlint. Colloidal matter not entering the lint cells proper but "adheringto these films only is re-' moved by our process to leave clean filmswithout having to take that film oil away from the fibers. Therefore thefilm oil or fixed oil content does not contaminate the added cleanlubricating oil and there is no requirement for ever removing this fixedoil from the waste.

We claim:

1. In a process for reclaiming used waste, the combination of thesesteps which comprise that step of gradually dropping the waste into anintensely heated zone at the top of a bath of oil, a volume along thetop portion of which is less heated, that step of moving the waste oninto the less heated volume of oil, and that step of cleaning fibers ofthe waste in the less heated volume of oil, the moisture in said wastebeing evaporated therefrom and the viscosity of the old oil carried bythe waste reduced before the waste is moved in the oil to said volume.

2. In a continuous process for reclaiming used waste the combination ofthose steps which consist of that step of carding the waste while in abath of hot oil to gently move fibers of the waste longitudinally onealong another to remove colloidal matter from the waste, that step ofremoving the carded waste from the oil bath, and that step of formingthe fibers into layers of relatively small area and successivelypressing one layer against another, the forward layers beingintermittently moved by the additional pressure of layers addedtherebehind, whereby the bath oil is pressed from the fibers toflowcomparatively short distances and over an inter-' val of time.

3. In a continuous process for reclaiming used waste, that method whichconsists of immersing the waste in quantities in a bath of lubricatingoil heated to a sufficient temperature to evaporate moisture therefrompromptly upon immersion and to reduce viscosity of oldoil carried by thewaste so as to induce precipitation of short ends and colloidal matterreleased from the waste when heated by said immersion; working thefibers of the waste into more or less parallel alignment and gentlysliding the fibers longitudinally along each other so as to rub from thefibers adhering colloidal or foreign matter; flowing heated oildownwardly through the waste as it is being worked whereby said mattertends to be flowed out and carried downwardly away from the fibers;lifting the fibers from the bath of oil in hanks; pressing the hanksinto layers of relatively small area and thickness and successivelypressing one layer against another, the forward layers beingintermittently moved by the additional pressure of layers addedtherebehind, whereby bath oil is pressed from the fibers to flowcomparatively short distances through a time interval; immersing theheated forward layers of fibers in a bath of relatively cold lubricatingoil; removing the fibers from the oil; and pressing the fibers togetherin closer relation resulting in reducing the oil content of the waste toa desired quantity.

4. In a process for reclaiming used waste, those steps of removing aliquid medium from the fibers, which comprise forming the fibers intolayers of comparatively small area; intermittently laying and pressing asucceeding layer against a preceding layer to set up a column of layers;and applying a lateral pressure to said column to retard movementthereof while the succeeding layers are being pressed against thepreceding layers in order to set up a predetermined longitudinalpressure determined by said lateral pressure throughout the columncausing intermittent movement of the entire column as succeeding layersare pressed thereagainst, whereby a period of time is provided tomaintain pressure on each layer as it is advanced in the column. tocause uniform extraction and fiow of said medium laterally in shortdistances from the layers along the fibers rather thanlongitudinallythrough a number of layers.

5. In a process for reclaiming used waste the combination of those stepswhich comprise that step of carding the waste in a heated bath of oil,that step of folding the carded waste fibers into layers of relativelysmall area to have the fibers principally in vertical positions andcompressing the layers one against another.

6. In a process for reclaiming used waste, the combination of thosesteps which comprises that step of carding the waste fibers in a bath ofhot wash oil to bring the waste fibers into moreor less parallelarrangement, that step of folding longitudinally of the fibers to drainslowly therefrom.

'7. A process for reclaiming used waste which embodies immersing thewaste in a hot bath of wash oil to drive off moisture, carding the wastein the oil to bring about a more or less parallel fiber arrangement,lifting the waste fibers from the oil. and maintaining them in sucharrangea ment to allow the oil to drain longitudinally thereof, foldingthe fibers into layers and pressing the layers together to expel thefree oil therefrom, expanding the layers in a bath of lubricatingoil andcarding the fibers to restore the parallel arrangement, removing thefibers from the lubricating oil and substantially maintaining saidarrangement, and compressing the removed fibers to bring them intocloser relationship to induce the formation of additional capillariestherethrough.

8. A process for reclaiming used waste which embodies immersing thewaste in a hot bath of wash oil to drive off moisture, carding the wastein the oil to bring about a more or less parallel fiber arrangement,lifting the waste fibers from the oil and maintaining them in sucharrangement to allow the oil to drain longitudinally thereof, foldingthe fibers into layers and pressing the layers together to expel thefree oil there from, expanding the layers in a bath of relatively coldlubricating oiland carding the fibers to restore the parallelarrangement, removing the fibers from the lubricating oil andsubstantially maintaining said arrangement, and compressing the removedfibers to bring them into closer relationship to induce the formation ofadditional capillaries therethrough.

9. The steps of a method of renovating used journal box packing whichhas a fibrous waste part and an oil part, which steps consist of thestep of loosening the fibers of the waste part in a bath of heated oil,screening out foreign matter during said loosening, and appreciablyadding oil thereto by interchanging bath oil with the original oil partof the packing; the step of removing the fibrcus part from the bath andtightly compacting it causing the oil carried over from the bath totravel through the compacted mass under pressure; the step of holdingthe com-. pacted fibrous part under pressure for an appreciable time;the step of immersing the compacted fibrous part in a bath oflubricating oil and loosening the fibers while therein; and thesucceeding step of removing the fibrous part from the bath and lightlycompacting itto give a final predetermined oil part.

10. The process of renovating the waste and reclaiming the oil fromjournal box packings which comprises subjecting the dirty oilimpregnated waste to the action of a pond of hot oil at temperaturesabove 240 F., allowing the foreign materials to settle out from thewaste to the bottom of the oil pond, removing the waste material fromthe oil pond after a treatment therein for a predetermined length oftime, removing free oil from the waste material, returning said oil tothe oil pond, rinsing the cleaned waste in another oil pond and removingthe excess oil from the thoroughly cleaned waste to produce a productuseful for repacking the journal boxes. I

LEO C. McNAMARA. IRVIN M. CONWAY. WILLIAM T. BISSELL. HERSCHEL H.HAROLD.

